Religion In India

In India, as much as 80% of the population belongs to the Hindu religion. The religion with the second largest number of members is Islam, which counts as many as 13% of the population in its ranks. Interestingly enough, with Hinduism’s policy of tolerance to other faiths, India has developed into a country where no single religion takes priority–not even Hinduism.

Some of the most prominent religions native to India are Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. These religions were originally derived from the teachings of the Shramana and the Vedic religions, both of which were actively practiced in the country for many thousands of years. Both Buddhism and Jainism are drawn from ancient Shramana teachings, with Hinduism being largely based on Vedic teachings.

Christianity is far less prevalent in the country, with only 2% of the country’s population belonging to that faith. Both Zoroastrianism and Judaism have also been practiced in India and today, they hold claim to several thousand members.

The policy of tolerance inherent in Hinduism is reflected in much of India’s society, with most of the residents maintaining a secular approach in their dealings with society. While marriages between two partners of differing faiths are not quite so common, they are generally tolerated. There have been a few instances of conflicts between different religious factions in the past, although the roots of these conflicts are widely held to be political as opposed to religion based.

The diversity of the religious makeup in India is mirrored in the country’s government policies as well. Even the country’s constitution affirms the secular nature of the republic, with explicit statements supporting the right of every citizen to worship as they please regardless of religious belief, although there are some restrictions that have more to do with issues of morality and law and order than any faith based issue.

Ayyavazhi is another religion prominent in India, with its roots being traced to the southern part of the country in the 19th century. Ayyavazhi is actually considered a Hindu sect, and its members are officially listed as Hindus during the census. Neverthless, Ayyavazhi members see it as a revitalization of sorts for the Hindu religion, and Ayyavazhi has managed to make the transformation into a distinct religion in its own right.

Islam is another religion that is practiced widely in India, where it began to draw in followers as far back as the 8th century. In fact, Islam’s contribution to the cultural development of the country was considerable during those early years, leaving its imprint on Northern Indian classical music, as well as religious and secular Indian literature. Today, there are more than 138 million Muslims all over the country, making India the third largest population of Moslems in the world, followed only by Pakistan and Indonesia.